I really cannot believe this day has come so quickly! I am officially done with my Masters! After making a few last-minute changes to my dissertation last night, I got up bright and early, compiled my final product and headed to the reprographics department at LSE to get my dissertation printed and bound! By 1030A, I was at the secretary’s office, signing off on plagiarism forms and handing in the finished piece.
I had expected to be excited and relieved. Thrilled, even. Instead, it was a very bittersweet moment; even a bit emotional. I found myself lingering on campus people-watching and slowly sifting through my dissertation before handing it over to the powers that be. After a year’s worth of work, presentations and essay-writing, everything is officially at an end. No more research to undertake, no more papers to write and no more academic journals to read. The thought actually makes me quite sad… the idea of LSE not being part of my daily London routine is so foreign. It’s particularly weird right now, in this moment. I don’t have a job yet and I no longer have school work to be undertaking. I literally have nothing that I have to do… kind of a scary prospect, actually. I might enjoy the freedom for a couple of weeks, but after that I’ll undoubtedly be incredibly antsy.
On the bright side, with August coming to a close and my dissertation off of my hands, I can now officially move my focus back to September! Mac is leaving San Francisco tomorrow morning and will be in London on the morning of the 2nd! I get to move my stuff to our hotel tomorrow & get ready for his arrival. How does time pass so quickly?! Pure insanity — I’ve almost been in London for a year!
Here’s to hoping there’s (at least) another year of British love in my future! Crossing my fingers that I can get a position at LSE!!
xoxo,
It is normal to feel bewildered. Handing in my PhD was one of the most anti-climactic and deflating experiences of my life. For the administrators it is just a part of their daily routine to take us through the forms and accept our work, whereas for us it is the culmination of a long project and serious time/effort. The two approaches don’t really mesh.
I recall walking around Cambridge wondering how to spend the afternoon, and deciding to (finally) visit the Fitzwilliam Museum, only to find it was closed on Mondays.
Yes! Anticlimactic is EXACTLY how I would describe it. I expected it to feel incredible — like a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders, but it was nothing like that! She had me sign some paperwork, ticked a box and I was gone! I have higher hopes for the PhD :)
Don’t get your hopes up too much, it’s even more anti-climactic, because instead of one year’s work signed and filed away like a tax return, it’s three…!!